Monday, January 17, 2011

It's Wonderful! It's Frantastic! It's Animalistic!

OMG! Today marks three full months since I last posted an entry on this blog. What happened? Life. Work. Travel. An unyielding commitment to Rooted in Earth, Suspended from Sky and innumerable hours spent writing posts to that blog instead of this one.

Today I'm breaking my silence. I absolutely, positively have no choice. I must rave about Stagenorth's production of Animal Farm that Frances and I attended yesterday afternoon. Wonderful! 'Smarvelous! And I'll use another recently coined term here (created by my sister's partner, Frank, but also equally applicable to my partner, Frances) ... Frantastic!

Animal Farm is a visual spectacle indeed. Its directors and producers call it "a dark comedy ... a REVOLUTION." It is all that and so much more.... Written by George Orwell, the well-known author of 1984, this "dystopian allegorical novella" (per Wikipedia) was published in England in 1945. Time magazine later chose it as one of the 100 best English language novels (1923-2005).

Orwell intended to critique the Russian Revolution and its leader, Joseph Stalin, who was corrupted by greed, ignorance, indifference and wickedness. Orwell's vehicle for this fantasy tale was a barnyard of animals who grow tired of the abuses and neglect of their farmer-owner. They unite, rebel, and drive the farmer off Manor Farm. Renamed Animal Farm the barnyard begins to function under an entirely new set of rules, the seven commandments of Animalism, not the least of which is Commandment #7: All animals are equal.

All too quickly the pigs (Stalin and associates) begin their takeover of farm operations using the labor of the other animals to increase their wealth and privilege and advance their political agenda. By play's end we see that there's no difference, really, between the political maneuverings of men and the barnyard machinations of pigs. Ultimately, the audience's hope lies in the words of one character who reminds us that there are other farms ... and other revolutions.

The directors of this production, Kellie Pederson and Scott Griffiths, write in their director's note that they were drawn to Orwell's tale because of "its timelessness and poignancy that supercedes any specific political climate." Or simply put, once a human, always a human or, perhaps more accurately, once an animal, always an animal. Aren't we all?

Pederson and Griffiths created a cast of humans, puppets, and musicians that was a wonder to behold. Costumes/puppets were intricately detailed to the point that actors could move their puppets' mouths as they spoke and tap their own feet along with the two additional feet of their puppets as they walked, pranced, and circled around the stage.

The three musicians offstage helped ease audience members through the between-scene setups and an excellent wooden flutist (Michael "Scooter" Charette who played the Fox) wowed us from the stage. Though the entire cast joined in one Animalistic song there were several songsters who stood out from the herd: 17-year-old Grant Hasse who played the role of Boxer, the workhorse, had a fabulous voice and Kelsey Rothe as Mollie, the horse who longed for sugar treats and ribbons in her mane, was also entertaining. During intermission Mollie crooned to audience members in the lobby which ultimately foreshadowed her departure from the animal barnyard.

Frances and I knew one of the chickens and and one of the pigs which allowed us to view the performance with even more interest and awe. Sarah Garner, a massage therapist in the area and a former(?) member of Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis, cawed and clucked, bobbed her head, and magically transformed her face into chickenesque expressions throughout the performance.

During curtain call, Sarah and her fellow hen, Leslie Wilson, received the loudest audience response. At the grocery store following the performance an acquaintance from Madeline Island who'd just seen the show said, "Oh, the chickens were the best part of the show."

Kristen Sandstrom, in her acting debut at Stagenorth, played Squealer, Napolean, the pig's (Stalin's) minister of propaganda. I know Kristen from my previous role as assistant innkeeper at Pinehurst Inn in Bayfield. Her parents, Nancy and Steve, own the Inn and Kristen assists in its operation. She played a powerful and convincing role as the marketeer (similar to her real-life job as marketing consultant?) for Napolean/Stalin. There were other shining moments when director Scott Griffiths mounted the stage to play roles as Napoleon's dog and Whymper, a man hired by Napolean as the go-between to trade with human society.

I could go on and on but I'll conclude with these famous last words: Don't miss the production of Animal Farm at Stagenorth (four remaining shows this weekend, Jan. 20-23). My hope? That it will claw, cluck, honk, moo, baa, and oink its way into your life and, ultimately, alter your world view.

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